Big Brother's A Prince!
by Pansychic27213
Summary: [Warning for mentions of child abuse] Loki, fed up with his miserable life after hiding on earth for a while, decides to cast a mysterious spell. Of course, this immediately involves the Avengers...
1. The Spell

**A/N: Future Warnings for mentions of child abuse and neglect, and super adorable young!Loki with fatherly!Tony.**

**I've seen a lot of stories where Loki comes crawling to the Avengers after being kidnapped and tortured by the Chitauri. They usually end with Loki either in a relationship with Tony, or an Avenger.**

**I've also seen stories where someone gets turned into a kid, and Tony ends up having to help take of them.**

**So I looked at those two types of stories and thought to myself, why not mash the two?! We'll end up with angst, fatherly!Tony, young!Loki, motherly!Natasha, big brother!Thor, uncle!Steve, eventual Avenger!Loki and/or FrostIron... Sounds like a good plan to me!**

**Big Brother's a Prince!**

-{[(•)]}-

The dark haired man stared sadly at the book on Norse mythology. Next to the book were assorted photographs and files, containing various bits of information on several people and gods. There was a cup of tea on the corner of the table, and a book of spells rested on the couch.

The green eyed man sighed and stood. He missed the day when he felt even a little bit loved; now, he just felt lonely and depressed. He missed the days when he could run to someone, and they would accept him with open arms.

The man gathered the books and files and organized them in a neat stack. He moved to the kitchen and quietly rinsed out his cup. After setting it in the sink, he returned to the living room.

The spell book was open again.

It was taunting him, it really was. Without looking he could tell you exactly what page the book was open to and exactly which spell it contained. The stupid book had been trying to convince him for a while.

The only problem was that if he cast the spell, there might not be someone who would be able to reverse it.

The male sighed wearily and ran his hand through his hair. All he had to do was cast the spell and all of this worrying and hurt could be over. Just one little spell could fix all of his problems.

For a while at least.

He formed a steeple with his hands and stared down at the spell book for a long while.

Decided, he put the mythology book away and began to prepare for the aftermath of what was to come. He scribbled out a letter, muttering the spell under his breath all the while.

Bright white filled the house.

**A/N: Lame prologue is lame. I apologize. *bows apologetically***

**Funny thing is, I'm not Japanese in any way, but I feel compelled to bow a lot. *shrugs* Go figure! :)**


	2. The New Kid

**A/N: Cue Tony! Clint, go break something in the kitchen! Steve... do what you do! Thor, my man! How's it going? Alright! *gives poptart* Oh! Can't forget the viewers! *throws virtual poptarts at screen* Alrighty then! Roll Film! :)**

Tony was getting tired of letting the Avengers stay at his place. They ate his food, interrupted his work, and never cleaned up after themselves. He was considering kicking them out. Or hiring a maid service.

Hmmmmm...

Maybe a maid service would be best.

Tony resisted shouting at whoever it was when he heard a familiar crash from the kitchen. Another crash came from the living room. The brunette growled and started to storm to his upstairs lab. Unfortunately, the doorbell decided to ring at that time.

"JARVIS!" The inventor shouted. "Who is it?" He began the short trek to the door. The computerized voice remained silent. Tony paused. "JARVIS?" The automatic voice stuttered to life.

"Terribly sorry, sir. I don't... recognize him... But the secretary let him up, sir." Iron Man frowned, approached the door, and opened it anyway. No one was there.

"U-ummm..." A small voice called. Tony glanced down. A small boy, maybe six or seven, was standing on his 'doorstep' (which was really just the area in front of the private elevator...) in a surprisingly familiar suit.

"Who are you?" Tony demanded and felt his eyebrow twitching. Why was this little kid here? What did he want? Why was he in a suit? "Are you selling Girl Scout cookies?" The boy looked confused.

"I am looking for my big brother, and I was sent here to deliver some letters," he answered and blinked his bright green eyes. "Oh! You are !" The boy reached into his green backpack and removed an envelope. He handed it to the man, who stared in curiosity at his name written in curly cursive penmanship.

Tony opened the envelope and began to read the contents of the letter. He quietly questioned the suited boy as he read, and the dark haired child answered to the best of his ability. The man's eyes widened in shock. He quickly grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him inside.

"JARVIS! Tell everyone to meet in the living room!"

-{[(•)]}-

The newly identified child sat in a chair at the front of the room, sipping a juice box and swinging his legs. Bruce Banner (AKA The Hulk) sat on a couch at the other end of the room and looked distinctly uncomfortable. Tony was standing by the fireplace. Natasha Romanof (AKA Black Widow) and Clint Barton (AKA Hawkeye) sat on the couch at the kid's left. Steve Rogers (AKA Captain America) was leaning against the window sill across the room. The Avengers were mostly assembled, just waiting for Thor to arrive.

"Where's my big brother?" The green eyed boy asked innocently. His suit jacket hung over the back of his chair, and the files and documents from his backpack were scattered across the table.

The redheaded woman smiled and sweetly replied, "He'll be here soon."

Bruce frowned. "So it is him."

Tony sighed and nodded. Just then, the door slammed against the wall and a familiar blonde stormed in, fully dressed in armor and carrying his hammer.

"Man of Iron, what is happening? Why have you called me?" He requested loudly. A juice box clattered to the floor, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Thor's blue eyes landed on the small boy and widened with recognition.

The boy had midnight black hair that fell in neat layers around his ears, and his eyes were a gorgeous emerald green. He wore a suit with black pants, a white button-up shirt, a dark green vest, and a gold tie. Currently, the boy was wide eyed and trembling at the sight of the larger blonde god. He gulped quietly.

"B-big brother got... b-bigger," he managed. Storm clouds formed beyond the window.

"What mockery is this?" Thor barked. The only female in the room stood to take a defensive position.

"If you'll just read-"

"I will not read! You!" He shouted, pointed to the boy -who squeaked in fright-, and furiously approached. "Explain at once!" The boy slipped out of the chair and darted behind it.

"I-I am sorry!" He whimpered. "I-I do not know what I d-did-" Thor cut him off.

"How old are you? What do you remember?" Green eyes skittered around the room nervously. He backed away quietly, breaths coming out short and quick.

"I-I d-do not-" he gasped weakly. Thor stepped forward and leaned into the child's face. Natasha and Steve stepped forward as a warning to the angry thunderer.

"Do not deceive me, brother," the blue eyed man mumbled. "I do not know if my heart could handle more lies."

"B-brother," the dark haired boy muttered softly and gently touched Thor's face, cupping one of his cheeks and tucking some golden hair behind his ear. He sighed, seeming to resign himself to his fate, and finally admitted in a scared whisper, "I am seven years of age. Last night, father punished me for interrupting his meeting with the warriors when I tried to show him my new trick." He cupped his hands in front of him, face scrunched up in concentration. Slowly, a glowing golden flower appeared floating just above his little hands. The boy gasped for breath and released the spell he had been trying to hold. Blue eyes widened in remembrance. "You let me fall asleep in your room because I needed someone to help me with the bandages." Now, the rest of the Avengers' eyes were wide. Natasha especially looked as though something inside of her snapped, whether anger or pity one could not tell for certain. "But when I woke up, I was on Midgard. There was a letter for me and each of you, and there were files to help me find you. All I really know is that I'm supposed to apologize to all of you."

"Give me my letter," the blonde man ordered quietly with his head bowed, a gentle hand resting on the boy's trembling shoulder. Clint stepped forward and offered the requested envelope. "You have already read yours, yes?"

"Yeah, we read them," Tony responded for the group. Thor opened the envelope and carefully read through it.

Everyone in the room held their breath.

When he reached the end, the blonde man let the papers fall to the ground and pulled his younger brother into a tight embrace. "It's okay, Loki. Everything will be okay, now."

**A/N: Don't lie! You all know Odin was probably an abusive sicko! For Pete's sake, Loki thought cutting Sif's hair off was a good idea for a prank, it backfired, he went to get her some new hair, he also managed to trip some dwarves into giving him Mjoinir, and Odin makes Thor hold Loki down and sew his mouth shut! If that isn't abuse, I don't know what is!**


	3. Decisions

**A/N: Now, the Avengers must decide what to do with young!Loki! What will they decide?!**

After a few minutes, the seven year old was sent from the room. The Avengers stood around in silence, unsure of what to say or do. Tony glanced around for a long moment.

"What do you think of it?" Steve sighed. "I mean, I know he's a criminal and all, but his letters explained that, for now at least, he is completely a child. We all saw him. He couldn't even use magic very well."

"He's a criminal," Clint stated firmly. "There's nothing else to say. He killed people. He toyed with us."

"I don't know," Bruce sighed. "The 'other guy' still isn't fond of him at the moment, but I personally don't mind all that much. I mean, didn't someone say the Chitauri were forcing him to do it?"

"We can't know that for certain," Natasha declared. "So he's got a bad record... 'Little' Loki didn't do that stuff. The kid outside that door is innocent. He doesn't even know what's happened."

"This could be a chance to give him the childhood he never had," Thor beamed, though there was bitterness in his smile. "When Loki interrupted my coronation, he proved to me how unworthy I was of the throne at the time. Then he was pressured into being king, and I believe he snapped under years of mistreatment."

"Mistreatment?" Steve questioned.

"My younger brother was bullied a lot as a child for his interests and lacking in physical ability," the blonde god admitted.

"Did your parents do anything about it?" Natasha asked. Thor shook his head.

Another long silence reigned.

"So... Who's going to take care of him?" Tony questioned. Thor sighed wearily and raised his hand.

"He is my brother. I will take him in."

"And what, take him back to Asgard with you?" Natasha demanded. "Because as receptive as I'm sure your people are going to be, your dad's definitely not going to miss this opportunity! And haven't you stopped to consider that right now, he's at his weakest? If any of his other enemies find out, he's a goner." Bruce politely raised his hand.

"Umm, can't we just take him back to SHIELD? He's still technically a wanted criminal, and he'll be safer there-" Steve frowned and interrupted, but he still tried to be as nice about it as possible.

"As much as I agree with you on that, big guy, I'm not sure if it's right to turn him in. Doesn't anyone else remember the handcuffs and gag from last time? How do we know they won't put them on him again? Or worse?" The first Avenger seemed particularly disturbed by the mental image of the seven year old in a cell. "Besides, he's clearly forgotten what's happened, and the damage has been repaired... What SHIELD mostly wants now is to take him in so they can make sure he can't do it again."

Clint scoffed. "He still needs to pay for what he's done, brat or not. Just because he turns himself into a kid doesn't mean he gets immunity." Natasha and Tony sighed quietly when Thor decided to add his input.

"While that is true, my friend, Loki does not remember any of it. How can we punish him now? He doesn't even know what he's done. What would be the point of bringing him to SHIELD? We should-"

"But he's still a criminal, and-"

"We can't lock up an innocent child!"

"Fury's gonna find out eventually anyway, so-"

"Alright! Alright!" Tony shouted, holding up his hands and stepping between the forming sides. "We get it! We've all got great points to make, and we don't know what to do. Had anyone thought of asking Loki? Maybe he doesn't want anything to do with any of us."

"Okay," Steve nodded. "Let's hold off on any decisions until we talk to him. If it comes down to it, we can always hide this from SHIELD for a few days until we make our choice, and we need to consider what's in everyone's best interests." The assembled group nodded. Thor opened the door, leaned into the hallway, and called for his much younger brother. The tiny boy looked up from his animated conversation with with bright, sparkling eyes. Obediently, he leapt down from his seat and ran towards the blonde. The small, soft hand slipped into the large, war-battered one without hesitation.

"What did they say?" He asked curiously as Thor blinked at their hands. He gulped and forced himself to meet his brother's hopeful eyes.

"That's why I called you. We wanted your opinion," the man stated in a subdued voice. He turned to lead the boy back into the room, but the child was suddenly rooted to the spot.

"M-my opinion?" He stammered. "B-but I thought I was in trouble. And f-father does not let me choose. W-why does it matter?" Thor sighed and stared down at him sadly.

"You are in trouble," he replied, to which Loki flinched. "That's why we want your opinion. There are people in that room that care about you." In a way... Green eyes widened in shock. "They want what's best for you, and they want you to be happy."

"I-I... B-but I don't know-" Loki tried to protest, but his older brother cut him off.

"They know you," he declared. "Those letters made sure they know you. So please, do not be afraid." The boy blinked, wiped his eyes, and nodded. Thor gave his warmest smile and led him into the room, the entire exchange seen by the others because they were only just beyond the doorframe.

"Hey there," Natasha greeted Loki with a little wave. She knelt down to his eye level. "So," her eyes flickered up to Thor's for a moment. "Right now, you can't go back to Asgard. We need you to stay with one of us for a little while so we can figure this out. There's a safe place you can go, but I doubt they'll be very nice to you... You could stay with your brother, but I don't know where you'll both live-"

"I am sure Lady Jane will not mind-" Thor started to offer, to which Loki was highly confused.

"We're not involving civilians," several voices countered immediately. The blonde god just huffed. The redheaded woman rolled her brown eyes and brought the attention back to their current situation.

"You could also stay with another one of us-" a few weak protests "-but I can't say we'll always be home, and it won't be the safest option for you."

"Wait," Bruce suddenly said. "He doesn't really know us; he said so himself. He's only read files on us. How's he supposed to pick where he wants to stay?" Everyone stared at the child for a long moment.

"I like all of you," Loki murmured quietly.

"For Pete's sake!" Tony erupted. "Loki can just stay with me! All of you come over enough that someone can always keep an eye on him. We've got Pepper in case I turn out to be horrible with kids, this place is practically a fortress, and SHIELD doesn't check in here all that often. Natasha, Clint, you practically live at headquarters anyway, so he can't stay with either of you. Bruce, you and him didn't leave off on the best terms. We've already eliminated Thor, and Cap', I hate to say it, but I honestly don't know if he'll be safe with you. So that just leaves me. Whadda'ya say, Loki?"

Everyone stared at the man as he breathed heavily to regain his composure. Loki stared up at him with wide eyes. Almost out of the blue, a smile appeared on his face, and he gave a happy, affirmative nod. The group sighed with relief. A bit shyly, the boy stepped forward and took Tony's much larger hand. The brunette stared down at him for a second, unpleasant memories drifting through his head.

The poor kid just seemed so... needy, so desperate for attention and love. No wonder he had been surprised when Thor told him they cared. Odin seemed to be starving the little thing of the affection he needed.

Sighing, Tony nodded slightly to show Loki it was okay before leading the miniature god to a guest room for him to stay in. Natasha, Steve, and Thor tagged along behind them, chatting quietly. Clint and Bruce awkwardly decided to leave; they were, after all, the only ones who still didn't seem to trust the silver-tongued male.

"D-do you want to see a trick?" Loki asked sweetly as they walked. Tony glanced down uncertainly at him.

"What kind of trick?" He questioned, wary that the god of mischief was up to no good. Loki gave an anxious smile.

"A-a magic trick. Mama taught me," he answered. The man sighed and nodded. He had enough money to rebuild his tower if Loki burnt it down...

The child beamed and cupped his hands, closing his eyes and focusing so hard it showed on his face. Slowly, a wooden dog figurine formed in his hands. Loki grinned at his achievement and held the puppy out to Tony.

"For me?" The brunette sounded surprised.

"I like cats," the dark haired boy shrugged. "But you seem like the kind to like dogs more." Tony nodded thoughtfully and stared down at the dog charm.

"It's cute," he muttered. He glanced up. "Oh, here's a guest room. I guess you can just stay here." He pushed open the door and watched as the boy's eyes lit up. He darted into the room.

"Wow!" He gasped, looking out the window. "There's so many buildings!" He turned to Tony. "I saw them from the ground when I came, but... Wow!"

"I take it you like it then," Tony chuckled. He entered slowly and sat on the bed. "Loki," he started carefully, aware that he was treading into unsafe territory and he should have discussed it with the group first.

The boy immediately gave him all his attention, previous delight forgotten. He hesitantly sat beside the brunette and placed his hands in his lap to keep them from distracting him. Such a smart kid...

"So, you don't have any idea what's going on, do you?" The man asked. Loki shook his head.

"All I know is that I did something really bad. I feel sorry, even if I am uncertain as to what I have done," the boy nodded as he answered. Tony's eyes widened.

"You feel sorry? You weren't just saying that because you had to?" He startled. Loki sighed, a melancholy expression coming over his face as he placed a hand to his chest.

"Yes. I feel a lot of regret and sadness inside." He winced. "There is so much guilt and grief that it hurts a little. My heart responds to each of you when I look at you, and it hurts just a little more. Especially when I look at my brother. I feel so sad..."

They sat in silence for a long moment.

"You did so something very bad. You see, you're a little smaller than we know you as." Tony let out a slow exhale. "You grew up bitter and lonely. Then you hurt others because you thought it would give you some kind of peace or sense of accomplishment or something. After that, some bad stuff happened to you and you ended up hurting some more people." Loki looked ready to cry, but he didn't deny it. "We think you were being forced to do some of what you did, but we still had to punish you anyway. I guess you must have escaped from Asgard and looked for somewhere to call your own on Earth-"

"Do you mean Midgard?" Loki questioned quietly. He was staring shamefully down at his lap, toying with his fingernails. "Did I hurt people here? Is that why I feel sad when I look at you?"

"Yes, yes, and yes," the man sighed. "But somewhere in between when we last saw you and now, you turned yourself back into a kid."

"A kid?" Loki looked confused.

"A child," Tony corrected with a light chuckle. He just remembered that a kid was a baby goat... He gave the green eyed boy a long, concerned look when he started to shake. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"B-but if I hurt so many people, t-then why are you b-being nice to me?" The child questioned with misty eyes. "S-shouldn't you take me b-back to Father, o-or whip me, or... or..." He looked ready to burst into sobs.

"Loki, we would never do that to you. Even if we hated you and could never forgive you, we wouldn't treat you poorly when you need us. One of our main goals in life is to help people," the dark eyed man offered.

"Excuse me," Pepper called, opening the door. She frowned when she noticed Loki in tears. "Tony!"

"It wasn't me!"

"Hey, do you wanna go get some clothes? You're gonna look kinda strange if you walk around all day in a suit," the strawberry blonde suggested. Loki nodded shyly. He greedily took Pepper's hand when she offered it.

"Thank you, ," Loki murmured softly. "And I'm sorry."

**A/N: Some people are like, "But all dis happen cause Loki find out he adopted. Why u no tell Loki he adopted?"**

**My reasoning: Thor doesn't want Loki to know yet, because he wants more time with his brother without distrust and claims of "I'M NOT YOUR BROTHER!"**


	4. Shopping

**A/N: I just remembered! Virtual cookies for anyone who can guess the fandom the title came from! :)**

Pepper noticed how nervous the car ride made Loki and decided it was probably best to minimize their driving time. Heading to the closest store she could, she counted it as a miracle that she was able to get a parking spot. She helped Loki out of the car and led him to the children's section in the store.

He eyed the clothes carefully, unhappy with the bright colors and strange decals. He sighed in slight resignation and began to grab things he even slightly liked that were close to his size.

Pepper had to stop him when he started to try them on in the middle of the store.

"No! No-hahahaha!" The strawberry blonde burst into giggles. "No, Loki! Y-you don't change here. T-try them- heehee- on in one of the little stalls over there!" She gently gave him a push in the right direction. He looked confused at first, but instantly beamed when he understood and jogged over with the small bundle of clothes in his arms.

Pepper sat in one of the chairs outside.

"Done!" A call came from inside the dressing rooms a moment later.

"Umm, no. You're not. I want you to show me," the woman stated flatly.

"Oh." There was a small pause before a bright, "Okay!"

Moments later, a tiny Loki stepped out anxiously. A green and white striped, collared polo shirt and dark blue jeans were what he had chosen. Pepper sat up and stared at him for a long moment.

"May I?" She questioned, inclining her head towards him. He nodded nervously.

"Did I not do well? I tried to look like the pictures-" Loki gestured to some of the manakins and seasonal wall decorations.

"You did fine, sweetie," Tony's girlfriend mumbled as she fiddled with his pants. "I just think these are a bit big for you..." She glanced up at him. "What size are these?"

"An S," he answered automatically. She almost laughed.

"Well, okay, but I think you might be an XS," she responded. He nodded and went back into the dressing room, returning in the different pants. "Much better! Now, try on some of the other stuff!"

Loki beamed and did exactly that.

In the end, they had quite a few shirts and a couple pairs of pants. They still needed shoes, probably some toiletries, pajamas, underwear...

Pepper sighed as they got back in the car. Loki bounced excitedly for a moment, forgetting his previous nervousness. He remembered it all too soon when the engine started.

Loki squeaked quietly, gripping the edges of his seat. Pepper glanced at him with concern.

"Loki, it's okay. It's just the car." She thought for a moment. "You ride horses in Asgard, right?" He nodded shakily. "Well, the car is kind of like a Midgardian horse. It takes you were you want to go, and you can control it. Look, here," she grabbed the steering wheel. "This is kind of like the reins. I am in control of the car."

Loki took a deep breath and smiled quietly. Pepper returned the smile and pulled out of their parking space.

-{[(•)]}-

A few hours later, they had a pair of tennis shoes, two sets of pajamas, a few packs of socks and underwear, the necessary toiletries, some coloring books with crayons and colored pencils, a jacket, a box of Legos, and a set of action figures which may or may not be the Avengers...

Tony hadn't exactly been angry with their spending spree, more irritated that he hadn't come along.

"Well, I've got enough money," he sighed when he saw the seven year old talking to his action figures as though they would respond. The boy was smiling and talking especially animatedly with the Iron Man...

"Trust me, you didn't need to be there," Pepper sighed, taking a long sip of tea. "He was so difficult. I thought he'd be so easy..."

"Difficult how?" Tony asked. The strawberry blonde frowned and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"It was like he didn't want me to buy anything. I actually had to force him to pick out coloring books. And he never let me buy anything if he saw the price. It's sad, Tony. It's like he doesn't think he's worth the money. I almost cried for him when he refused some candy," she sighed.

"I think it's worse than that," the brunette scowled, eyes wandering to the boy who was playing happily. Loki glanced up then and smiled widely, green eyes glittering. Tony returned his gaze to Pepper after returning the smile half-heartedly. "When he talked about his parents discipling him, he said he needed Thor to help with the bandages. I think they beat him, Pep."

The woman gasped.

"And Thor mentioned once that magic was used primarily by women in Asgard. So he was probably ridiculed for that," she frowned angrily. His magic was beautiful; she had seen it in action.

"I remember that too. I also heard him say something about Loki being the odd one out for his intelligence," Tony replied in hushed tones. Loki was starting to get curious about what they were talking about. Pepper shook her head sadly.

"So he was abused and bullied his whole life, add neglect and torture... I'm surprised he wasn't worse off," she whispered. "I probably would have gone insane."

"He did go insane, Pepper. He tried to take over the world," Tony smirked slightly, though it was tainted by anger and bitterness.

"I'm starting to think he was pressured into it by the Chitauri. Didn't they torture him too, and put him under the scepter's control? Thor's always talking about how Loki was once so sweet and kind, always looking to please others," Pepper looked highly concerned. "Did you read those Norse mythology links I sent you?"

"Yeah, the whole team did," Tony winced. "That had to suck, having a bunch of kids and then having them stolen."

"And the Asgardians treat the frost giants like dirt. They were raised with a mind for conquest over them. And for Loki to grow up like that and then find out he is one?" Tears formed in the woman's eyes and she quickly took a sip of her tea.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked suddenly, appearing next to them and tugging gently on Pepper's shirt. The woman sniffled weakly, offered a sad smile and nodded.

"I'm gonna go email the others," she addressed Tony. He nodded silently and watched her go.

"What's wrong? She was so sad," Loki wondered. The dark eyed man just shook his head.

"Hey, you want to play together?" He questioned, gesturing to the action figures. Green eyes lit up in wonder, and a dark haired head bobbed excitedly.

They sat down on the floor together.

"You're this one," Loki grinned and held out the Iron Man to Tony. The brunette laughed heartily and agreed. "A-and... I want to be this one." Loki cradled the Thor.

"Why do you want to be that one?" Tony asked as they made the figures fly around and defeat the 'evil, mind-controlled' Avengers. The Hulk was playfully thrown through a Lego building.

"He's strong, and handsome," Loki smiled. The smile faltered after a moment. "And he's a great warrior and everyone likes him and he's a real man." He sat down with a 'plunk.' "Basically, he's everything I'm not..." His gaze returned to the action figure.

"I don't know about that!" Tony laughed, internally devastated by the implications of Loki's words. Emotional abuse as well, how cruel. "You're pretty cute, too, and I'm sure you'll grow up nice and strong! And I know plenty of people who like you!"

Loki just sighed.

"Why don't we eat now?" The brunette suggested. The boy nodded sadly and stood. He cleaned up all of the action figures and Legos and placed them carefully back inside the correct boxes. "JARVIS, can you take care of the bags?"

"Certainly, sir."

Tony held out his hand. Loki stared at it for a long moment, and the man could see a desperate conflict in his eyes. Without a word, he reached up and gently took Tony's hand. The brunette resisted the strong urge to pull him into a hug.

**A/N: Poor Loki! I'm making everyone so mean to you! :'( Come here, let me give you a hug. *hugs Loki* Here, if you review, you get to hug him too! *holds Loki out towards reviewers***

**Loki: But I don't want a bunch of strangers hugging me...**

**Me; Hush now, child. Everything will be okay. Maybe not today, but eventually. *pets head***


	5. Bathtime!

**A/N: THOR! Get on the set, already, darn it! You're going to make us run late! *shoves Thor onto screen***

After a silent and awkward dinner of Chinese takeout and Poptarts (the Asgardians really liked them, it seemed), Loki started to get pretty tired, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He played with Thor and the action figures for a bit before his older brother decided it was his bedtime.

The blonde, muscular God scooped the seven year old into his arms and settled him on his hip, already starting to walk down the hallway to the dormitories. Loki tiredly leaned his head against his big brother's shoulder and gently gripped his shirt for extra balance.

"Do not fall asleep just yet, brother. You still must take a bath," Thor admonished. The dark haired child just whined quietly, resolved to do what he wanted no matter what. "Loki..." Thor sighed and shifted the boy on his hip, "Please, I do not want to bathe you whilst you are unconscious." Green eyes just slowly opened and stayed that way.

Finally, the small family reached Loki's temporary place of residence. The blue eyed man fumbled with the tiny suit for a moment before the black haired kid huffed indignantly and undid the buttons himself. Thor showed Loki the bathroom, turned on the water for him and turned to leave before a small hand gripping his tunic stopped him.

"I-I..." Loki stuttered weakly. His face was a dull shade of red. Tiny trembles ran through his shoulders and he clutched his towel tighter against his chest. "I d-do not yet know how to b-bathe."

The man just stared mutely for a moment, making his little brother flush even more in embarrassment.

"R-right," he whispered and pulled away. "S-sorry. I'm smart; I-I can figure I-it o-ow-out..." He silently removed his pants and undergarments before setting the towel down on the toilet seat and sitting in the tub, still confused as to why his brother was just standing there. Green eyes flickered away, and he gulped before speaking. "A-are you going to l-laugh at me?"

That seemed to startle Thor out of the reverie he had fallen into.

"No! No! I would never laugh at you! I was just shocked. I didn't think you would ask for help with this sort of thing," he admitted and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Here-" He hurriedly knelt beside the tub and started to teach his brother how to wash himself with the washcloth and the vanilla scented body wash.

It seemed Loki had a strange attachment to the smell because all of the scented toiletries smelled faintly of it. Everything down to the toothpaste had the sweet, warm fragrance.

Loki started to fall asleep again once Thor began to wash his hair, gently rubbing the sudsy vanilla shampoo into his hair. "Like that, do you?" The blonde chuckled. "Close your eyes." He was afraid his little brother would fall asleep for sure once he did so, but he'd rather that than getting soap in those bright green eyes. The seven year old did as he was told, and Thor used a cup to wash away the bubbles while using his hand to shield Loki's face.

"You are surprisingly good at this, brother," Loki murmured sleepily. "Must you do this often?"

"I am responsible for myself on Midgard. There are no servants like ours here," Thor answered thoughtfully. The boy hummed in agreement.

"True. I have never met anyone quite like your friends. They are very... nice."

Thor was done after that, and he gently lifted Loki from the tub. He had to help the child dry off with the oversized towel since he was too tired to do it himself. Then the blonde dressed the half-aware boy in a pair of fuzzy green pajama pants and a white sleep shirt (which may have been a few sizes too large despite Pepper's best efforts...) and tucked him in quietly. Loki was dead asleep before Thor had even crossed the room to turn out the light.

**A/N: Aaaaaaaand... BIG BROTHER/LITTLE BROTHER FLUFF POWERS ACTIVATE!**


	6. Breakfast

**A/N: *hisses quietly* Natasha! Where's your camera?! Don't tell me you lost your ONLY prop!**

At Tony's request, JARVIS let the kid sleep in (for Avenger's standards), but woke him in time to get ready for breakfast. Although, someone probably should have explained this to Loki...

" , it is time to wake up."

Loki emitted a sound strangely between a whine and a grunt. He rolled over and pulled his pillow over his head. "Nooooooooo~!" He mumbled.

JARVIS gave the AI equivalent of a sigh.

"It is almost time for breakfast, sir. Should you not wake? I doubt you want to go hungry..."

That got Loki up quickly. Tussled black haired immediately appeared as the seven year old bolted upright. "I-If I do not go now, they w-will not feed me?" He gasped. Thin arms wrapped around his abdomen. "I-I..."

"Sir, if I may-"

Loki was on the verge of tears as he hurriedly got up and rushed to get dressed. He pulled something green over his head, and there were some black things on his legs, and then he was quickly running a brush through his hair, and oh! What if he didn't make it in time?!

" , please calm down. What is currently the problem?"

The green eyed boy just crumpled to the ground in defeat. "I-I'm not going to make it in time..." His breaths grew shaky, and his heart pounded in his chest. A small, hopeless sound escaped him, somewhere in between a sob and a whimper. This only seemed to confused JARVIS more, for he was completely unprepared for dealing with unknown children...

"Sir, are you not going down to breakfast?"

The boy just cried in response before he crawled into the wardrobe and curled in a ball, closing the doors behind him and covering his head with his arms. If they weren't going to feed him because he didn't get up on time, whose to say they wouldn't beat him if he didn't get down there on time?

"Oh dear..."

-{[(•)]}-

"Ah, -" JARVIS called faintly into the kitchen. " ." Thor looked up to the ceiling, still unable to grasp the concept that there wasn't someone there.

"What is it JARVIS? Where's the Lokster, by the way?" Tony automatically replied without even looking away from where he was watching Steve make waffles while Natasha cut up an assortment of fruits.

"That's what this is about, Sir. It seems I have woken him incorrectly. His breathing and heart-rate have accelerated, and he has retreated to the confines of the wardrobe."

Tony muttered a curse and hurriedly brought Thor to Loki's room.

"I do not understand, Man of Iron. What is the matter?" The blonde questioned as they jogged. Tony took a second to stop gasping for air (Wow, he really needed to start working out-) before he gave an answer.

"JARVIS said he scared Loki, and the kid's hiding in the closet." The brunette ran a hand through his hair and opened the door.

Both men were greeted with hushed sobs coming from the tall, wooden Narnia reference. They shared a glance before Tony silently approached the doors. He hesitated for a second, then he knocked quietly. The sobs subsided for a second.

"W-who's t-there?" Loki requested in a wavering voice.

"Hey, Rudolph. It's Tony. Man in Iron and all that jazz..." The brown eyed man trailed off when the boy's breath hitched. "Loki? Do you wanna tell me what's wrong? I'm sure we can do something about it-"

"NO!" The seven year old shouted, sounding frightened. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" He was panicking, hyperventilating, sobbing himself into a mess.

"Hey, Lokster, I'm going to open the door, okay? We'll go from there," Tony tried to assure. "Thor's here with me, if that makes you feel better."

"N-no! G-go away-" Loki's miserable pleas were ignored and the doors swung outward, greeting the two men with a terrified boy curled up on the bottom of the wooden shelter. Tony knelt down to his level. He held his hands up, making sure they were always in Loki's view which would assure him that Tony wasn't attempting anything.

"What's going on? Why are you freaking out?" The brunette asked and tried to make his voice sound gentle. Maybe he should have sent Pepper in his place... She could probably do this a lot better, and she's already spent a day with the kid...

"I-I'm sorry... I-I-I did not k-know, b-but I d-did not m-muh-mean to," Loki paused to sniffle and shift closer to Tony, wary of him but still desperate for his warmth and care. "I-I w-would not have b-been l-luh-late if I had k-known-"

"Known what? I don't understand. What are you late for?" Tony's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Ah, Sir, I believe I finally understand," JARVIS interrupted smoothly. "When I first awakened , I implied that he might miss breakfast if he was not there in time. I did not mean for him to gather that food would be with-held from him." Green eyes widened.

"O-oh," he whispered and shrunk back. Not only was he late, he caused a whole mess of a disturbance and cried in front of warriors because he made a silly mistake. Why should he ever think these people would ever be like his father? Just because Odin sometimes kept him from eating, didn't mean they would. "I-I'm sorry," Loki managed.

Tony shook his head, "It's alright, Reindeer Games. No harm, no foul. I'm just glad we got this cleared up. Now come on, breakfast'll get cold." He offered his hand, and the petite boy gingerly accepted.

The trio walked back to the dining room together. Natasha left the kid alone and pretended nothing had happened. Bruce ignored him altogether and started to make a kettle of tea. Steve gave Loki a warm, polite, American smile and offered him some breakfast.

"What are these waffles you speak of?" He asked.

"They are delicious, brother! You must have them!" Thor boomed (as was usual for him). "Waffles are a kind of sweet bread that you eat with syrup, fruit, or finely whipped cream! Here." He grabbed a plate, put two waffles on it, lightly drizzled them with chocolate sauce, added equal amounts of strawberries and blueberries, and sprayed the top with whipped cream.

"Careful, Thor. I don't want him running around on a sugar hype," Natasha warned. Thor just laughed.

Loki took a hesitant bite of waffle, unknowingly getting puffs of whipped cream on the corners of his mouth. His eyes widened and lit up.

"Good!" He managed before he began to delicately (read: hurriedly) eat the rest of his breakfast. He beamed in satisfaction and gulped down three glasses of orange juice.

Natasha was right about the sugar rush, of course, and the miniature god of mischief came down from his high around two in the afternoon.

Clint had retreated to his room at the beginning of Loki's sugar rush. Bruce had eventually snuck away to his lab just in case things got bad. Steve had been chased from the room in a flurry of glitter and pink paint around noon, and now Tony and Thor were passed out on the couch. Loki slept peacefully between them, a blue blanket wrapped around him tiny form and the corner of his pillow in his mouth.

The only female Avenger sat at the kitchen counter, reviewing the videos she had taken from the safety of her hiding spot behind the entertainment center. It was in the footage from around nine that morning that she noticed Pepper starting to walk into the room (files and coffee in hand) before abruptly stopping, taking a sip of her coffee, and smoothly walking backwards out the door again.

The redhead laughed wickedly, trying to imagine the thoughts that must have been going through the poor strawberry blonde's head...

"Mm..." Loki shifted in his sleep. He stretched elegantly like a cat and left his feet on Thor's lap. Unconsciously, one of his hands reached for Thor's, and the other wrapped around Tony's left. Natasha giggled slightly at the sight and took a picture.

Finally, the female assassin decided it was time to clean up and bring the rest of the boys up for a late lunch. They had, after all, escaped so quickly and not returned for food.

**A/N: I want those videos. Anyone else? *holds out copies of videos* Haha... I wish... :(**


	7. Invisibility Mischief

**A/N: Sadly, this is the last chapter I have prewritten for now... Sorry...**

After a week, Loki started to get bored of playing with his action figures. The little men didn't talk to him or move on their own, and it felt kind of desperate to talk to fake people. So, after a lot of whining, hiding, almost crying, and puppy dog eyes, Loki was granted a day in Tony's lab while he worked.

At first, it really worked. Loki was quiet, in awe of everything Tony did. And because he was so well behaved and didn't touch anything, Tony thought nothing of letting the kid sit in there for the next couple of days. It certainly solved Loki's problems of boredom and loneliness, and eventually he became curious about the wonders of science.

For the next two weeks, Tony's mouth was constantly moving. Every moment of his work day was spent answering questions and explaining how things worked. Loki was an attentive listener, and soon Tony felt okay letting him touch stuff. Some stuff...

Loki became a lab assistant of sorts. He often handed Tony tools or offered ideas from a much simpler point of view. Sometimes Tony's mind was just too scattered and advanced to see the plainer answers.

So, Loki, with his weak understanding of science, helped Tony as much as he could. But, he was, after all, still a child, and it didn't take long for him to become bored again.

-[]-

Tony was alone in the lab for the first time in almost a month, and he found himself talking out loud even though he knew no one else was there. He was working on an engine for some robot or something, just tinkering away without much thought. Sometimes, he expectantly paused with his hand out, waiting for Loki to put a tool there.

After a few hours, Tony actually felt sort of lost and alone. He didn't like the feeling, and he understood that Loki had worked his way into his heart... It sucked because he actually missed the little guy.

He sighed quietly and reached out his hand to grab his screwdriver, only to find that it wasn't there. He frowned and looked at where it had been sitting. Where did it go?

He glanced under the table and didn't see it among the usual clutter. Odd... He looked back at where he left it, only to see it again. But wasn't it just gone?!

Tony frowned and scratched his head. Maybe he needed to take a nap...

Later...

He'll definitely take a nap later.

Not thinking much of the occurrence, Tony returned to his work. Soon, he reached for the wrench he needed to tighten a few bolts. His hand clasped on thin air. Again confused, he looked at the spot where the tool had just been.

It was not there.

Tony closed his eyes and lightly smacked himself upside the head. "See, Stark? This is what happens when you drink so much alcohol. You loose brain cells and you go delusional!" When he opened his eyes again, the wrench was right there.

It practically mocked him.

'I was always here,' it whispered. 'You are just insane!'

"I'm imagining that my tools are talking to me," Tony gaped. "I can hear it's little voice in my head. Sweet mother of whiskey-"

Light, mischievous laughter burst into the room. The brunette startled at the sound and turned to see his miniature lab partner cackling on the couch. Loki's head was thrown back, and his arms were wrapped around his sides. Tiny tears formed at the corners of his eyes. His laughter was bright and sounded almost like something twinkling.

Bells perhaps.

Twinkling bells, Tony thought and almost asked JARVIS to compare the two sounds. Instead, the billionaire frowned lightly and waggled his finger at the boy.

"So you're the one who's been making my tools disappear!" He declared in a playful manner. He knew from experience that sounding truly upset could make the boy instantly dissolve into a quivering mess of tears and snot bubbles.

"Yes! Your face was hilarious!" The green eyed child stared at Tony for a long moment before he fell to another round of laughter.

"You wanna laugh?! I'll give you something to laugh about!" Tony gave a battle cry and lunged for the boy who barely had time to gasp in surprise. The brown eyed man was suddenly upon him, tickling his sides and the back of his neck.

"No! NO!" Loki screeched with laughter loud enough to be heard down the hall. "Ahahahahaha! NOOOOOOO~!"

A few seconds later, Steve was at the door in pajamas and a sweatshirt, carrying his shield and ready to defend the duo. He stopped short once he realized what was happening and leaned peacefully against the doorframe. Stark could be a pretty sweet guy it seemed.

Tears of happiness rolled down Loki's cheeks and he softly kicked and hit at Tony trying to free himself. "STOP!" He laughed. "S-Stop! I-I... c-can't breathe!" At that, the brunette quickly pulled his hands away and allowed Loki to catch his breath.

Abruptly, Loki launched forward with a shriek of delight and wiggled his fingers viscously under Tony's arms and down his sides. The billionaire was quiet for a moment in surprise before he dropped to the ground with a bark of laughter.

"N-no! I won't... let you w-win!" He managed.

Around that time was when Natasha appeared in the doorframe with a towel around her neck and a camera. It seemed she had gotten out of the shower just in time to record the tickle-fight.

"Should we not stop them?" Thor wondered as he stood behind the spy and the American. "Loki can loose his breath quite easily if he's not careful."

Natasha chuckled. "Don't worry so much. JARVIS monitors everyone in the tower, and Tony's always cautious about this stuff. They'll be fine." The blonde god nodded, and the trio continued to watch until Loki triumphantly claimed a victory (one that Tony had obviously given him!) and happily skipped out of the lab for dinner.

-{[(•)]}-

**A/N: *tickling Loki***


	8. Ice Cream

**A/N: I'm feeling so sad today, so I sat down to write... Sorry if it affects my writing... *sadly listens to pop music* *changes into pajamas* *eats too many cookies***

Loki sat quietly by one of the tall glass windows in the lab, watching as everything happened outside. A Lego robot rested uselessly in his hands; he had built it earlier that day and refused to let go of it for fear that something would happen to it. Thor had pulled his steadily growing black hair back into a short ponytail, even if his bangs had fallen out because they were too short. The green eyed boy had considered asking Pepper for a headband because they kept getting in his eyes, but he let it be. He wore the green and white striped polo shirt today, with his pair of khaki shorts and light up sneakers. Something weighed heavily on his chest, as it had since JARVIS woke him up.

Nearby, Tony was working on some new gadget or something, rambling on about everything and anything and nothing, all at once. His shirt was stained with sweat and oil stains from last night. He had refused to change when he went to bed (for all of the half hour he actually slept) and again when he woke up. He knew something was bothering Loki, and it was starting to make him jittery. His hands twitched all of the worktable, and his eyes never stayed focused on anything for more than a second. Or, maybe he was just relapsing because Pepper had refused to let him drink of drop of alcohol since Loki appeared.

He was probably just relapsing...

The child at the window sighed deeply and kicked his dangling feet back and forth irritably. He was having a wonderful time the Avengers so far. More than a month into his stay, and he practically considered them family... Except Clint, who still didn't seem to like him. Thor would always be his big brother, but now he had other people he could love and be loved by. Natasha was like his second mother (or crazy aunt), Pepper was his big sister, Steve was like his friendly uncle, Bruce had filled the roll of cousin somehow, and Tony... Tony was the father he could have only asked for. Sure, their impromptu family was a little strange, and they still tiptoed around each other a bit, but they were growing closer every day.

Loki was perfectly fine now, or as close to fine as he could get. Odin seemed like a distant memory. The seven year old was happy with where he was and who he had been provided with. Thor considered what he had to say and didn't tease him now, even if it still felt like he was hiding something. Clint tried to be less hostile, at least. Steve openly talked with him and played with him whenever he asked. Bruce wasn't afraid of the Other Guy attacking him anymore, and Natasha wasn't worried about the boy trying to trick them. Pepper colored with him often, even if she did look disappointed when his pictures almost looked realistic compared to hers. Tony always tried to make sure he ate all his vegetables and got to bed on time; this had greatly surprised the others, who never thought he could be the fatherly type. But still, Loki knew what was missing.

"Tony," he called tentatively, still nervous to call him 'Papa' like he did in his head. His green eyes never left the world beyond the window. "Why... Why can't I go outside?"

That's what it was. Loki felt caged. Over a month, and he still hadn't left the tower besides to get new clothes. Even then, he was practically glued to Pepper's side, being rushed from one place to the next in a number of hours. He wanted to go _outside_, with the _sun_ and the _birds_ and the _trees_! He didn't like his life on Asgard, but back then he had at least been allowed to wander Mother's garden.

"Go... outside?" Tony suddenly stopped moving altogether. So that's what had been eating at his little buddy. "Well... I guess I never really considered that. Hmm." He thought for a long moment. "There are some people who... don't _like_ you for... what older you did. We just don't want you to get attacked by those people. Or even seen really, because then they'd know you're here and they could come and try to get you, which would really suck and I just..." The brunette took a deep breath.

"I understand," the seven year old smiled sweetly and returned to staring out the window. "it's okay. It was just a thought." Now he just felt nervous... If he left the tower, he would just be attacked. Or people who hated him would come for him and take him from Tony and Thor and the others... It really was better for him to stay inside.

Tony watched the boy with a melancholy expression. Poor kid. All he wanted to do was go outside for a little bit, but no, instead he was told doing so might hurt him. The brown eyed many huffed gruffly and ran his hands through his hair. "JARVIS," he barked with more force than was probably necessary. "Tell Thor and Nat to meet Loki and I in the front room."

"Of course, sir. Anything else?" JARVIS responded smoothly.

"Nope... Wait, get Thor to grab one of Loki's jackets. Oh, and what's the weather like in Central Park right now?" Tony questioned.

"87 degrees, sir, and partly cloudy with a 30% chance of rain."

"Perfect!"

The brunette rounded on his wide eyed charge and scooped him up. The boy gasped and anxiously grabbed Tony's shirt in his tiny fingers. The man just grinned. Carrying Loki on his hip, Tony entered the elevator and went up a few floors to the Avengers living area. Sure enough, Thor and Natasha had gathered in the front room.

"Put on your sweatshirt," Tony told the green eyed boy and set him on the floor. Still a bit shocked, the child quickly pulled on his navy, zippered sweatshirt. His hand subconsciously drifted into Thor's. "Alright, gang! Loki's slowly suffocating in the tower, so we're hitting the park for ice cream." Thor grinned and squeezed his hand happily. Natasha sighed and shook her head.

"You're just asking for trouble," she commented, but didn't bother protesting. "Lead the way, Stark."

"It's a kinda far walk, and parking is terrible in New York, so this might take a while..."

-{[(-)]}-

Loki had practically sprinted the last fifty feet to the park. "_Come on_!" he screamed. His light-up sneakers were going haywire with the number of steps he was taking. He bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet at the entrance.

"Loki! Hold up, buddy! We need to establish some rules," Tony called. Natasha nodded with a pleasant smile. Loki was adorable when he was happy. "First of all, you can't just go running off like that. Secondly, you need to stay in one of our sights at all times. No disappearing or hiding. Third, do not talk to any strangers. At all. Come back when you're ready for ice cream. That should be it..." He glanced to Natasha to make sure before nodding firmly. "Alright, scamp. Go have f-" The seven year old had already sprinted towards the nearest tree. "Do you think he heard me?'

Thor just laughed.

-{[(-)]}-

An hour later, Loki had run to where the adults were seated among the pigeons. He demanded Thor play with him, and giggled maniacally as they battled all kinds of imaginary beasts. Soon, they had dragged Natasha into their game. Now they were fighting something a bit more modern (some kind of evil robots). Loki didn't appear to be getting tired anytime soon, so it wasn't long until they got Tony to play as well. The seven year old rode around on the brunette's back, pretending he was a mighty steed. The genius honestly wasn't bothered (Loki's grin was just too cute), and Natasha thought it was hilarious.

Well, she thought that until Loki suddenly leaped from his "ride's" back to tackle her. Every bone in her body was forced to resist her instinct to throw him off. Using her distraction, the boy managed to steal her stick "weapon" and forced her to surrender. The woman was shocked for a moment before she let out an almost girlish giggle and agreed. Moving up to the "prisoner's tower" (a nearby tree), Natasha played her part as the perfect damsel in distress. Thor valiantly tried to "reclaim the fair maiden." Unfortunately, it would seem that it was not his day.

When Thor moved to grab Loki and make him surrender, the seven year old let out a short cry of pain. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he backed away from his brother, looking wounded. The blonde panicked and immediately picked the boy up to check him over for injuries. Suddenly, Loki cackled and held out his "sword" to the bigger male's throat.

"Hah hah, I win," he teased.

"You- you tricked me!" Thor spluttered. "I can't believe you! I thought I had hurt you!" The little brat had the audacity to stick out his tongue!

"He's right. That's not very nice, Loki," Natasha scolded lightly.

"Don't be the boy who cried wolf. If you trick people like that, one day they won't believe you. Then you'll really be hurt, and no one will help you," Tony explained as he gently took the seven year old from his brother. "You should apologize."

"R-really? That can happen? I-I never thought..." Loki quickly turn to Thor. "I'm sorry, big brother. I-I won't do it again." The blonde frowned. How do you stay angry when someone calls you 'big brother' in such a little, miserable voice?

"I... I forgive you."

"Hey, why don't we get ice cream now?" Tony suggested. Natasha smirked and poked him lightly.

"Tired?"

"No."

-{[(-)]}-

Thor got strawberry ice cream, Natasha took mint chip, Tony went for chocolate, and Loki took vanilla. Once they had procured the delightful frozen treats, they found an empty bench to sit on. Watching old couples and excited children run by, the adults chatted quietly. Loki was kicking his tiny legs again, licking his ice cream so quickly it had to be unhealthy. Not to mention how messy... He already had ice cream all around his mouth and on the tip of his nose. Some of it had dribbled down his chin and onto his shirt. There were even some speckles of the creamy dessert on his shorts.

Sighing, Natasha forced herself to wait until he had finished the cone before pulling out a napkin and wiping him off as best she could. Tony stifled a laugh when she finally noticed the state of Thor.

-{[(-)]}-

After another hour in the park, Loki was too tired to continue. Thor gave him a piggy back ride for the journey home. Once they had finally arrived at the tower, the seven year old was laid down for a nap on the couch with his favorite blue blanket. Steve cooed at the sight of him, and even Bruce admitted he looked adorable when he slept. Clint just stared at him for a long moment; then he hissed something under his breath and left the tower for a while. Tony returned to the lab, telling JARVIS to inform him when the miniature trickster awakened. Thor decided to watch a movie in his room, and Natasha began to make a late lunch for everyone.

It seemed right how they all seemed to fill these almost family-like roles.

**A/N: Was it good? Bad? Was Loki adorable? Is Tony being too fatherly? You get a virtual ice cream of your choice when you review!**


	9. Reading Rainbow

**A/N: I'm sorry for the extremely long delay! But! I really like this chapter. I think it leads into the rest of the story really well. *le hint le hint***

[CHAPTER 9]

"Okay, bud, listen up," Tony called. "As much fun as the park was, we're not going to be able to go there everyday. We adults have jobs to do, and you really shouldn't go outside in the first place." Loki frowned.

"I know. I'm glad we got to go, despite the possible consequences. I do not really need that much time outside. I need something to occupy my time; something to take me faraway places without ever leaving the tower," the seven year old responded intelligently.

"Smarty. I'm doing the best I can, alright? What the heck do you even mean? Like books?" The brunette scoffed. He ran a hand through his hair, and when he looked back at the kid, his big green eyes were sparkling.

"Books?!" He whispered. "Could I have some?! Please?!"

Tony's jaw dropped. Why didn't he think of this earlier. The kid was a mini-genius, and didn't Thor say something along the lines of 'he always spent his time in his room with his nose in a book?' The brown eyed man smacked himself.

"Alright. Let's head to the library."

The man led the dark haired child through the tower to the gigantic library. The moment felt oddly like the scene from Beauty and the Beast as he swept open the large double doors to the darkened room and was forced to open each set of curtains. When the last curtain opened, Loki spun in dazed circles, grinning like a maniac. A girlish squeal passed through his lips, and he darted towards the nearest bookshelf.

"There's so many!" He shrieked in delight. Tiny footsteps patterned through the entire room, even climbing ladders and going up the stairs to the second floor. Tony himself wasn't a huge fan of books, but several of the other Avengers liked to read, so he'd had this library made. He was glad he'd done so.

"Tony! Tony!" Loki cried and ran up to him. He tugged enthusiastically on the front of the man's shirt and bounced on the balls of his feet. "There's a book about Thor and I!" A curse fell from the brunette's lips as he was led towards the shelf were the Norse mythology book sat innocently.

"Hey, Loki," the brown eyed inventor was quick to kneel in front of the child, gripping his shoulders. "You have to promise me you won't read that book."

"What? But why?" The seven year old pouted.

"Remember when I told you about what future you did? That book is filled with all of the bad things that happen to you. You wouldn't want to read something like that, would you?" Tony demanded. He knew full well that Thor had yet to tell Loki about his adopted status, and one of the first things in the book was how Odin found Loki as a baby in the land of Frost Giants. He may not understand Thor's reasoning or why the Johtuns and Asgardians were such bad enemies, but he knew Loki would be really hurt if he knew the truth. He told Loki about the Battle of New York because the poor kid was so confused about why they all seemed so hostile when he'd never seen them a day in his life. And he wasn't going to cause the kid more pain than he already had.

"But if I read about it, can't I be more prepared for it when it comes?" Loki questioned innocently. The billionaire just shook his head.

"Those things already happened. You just don't remember. There's no need for you to prepare for them. Besides, who wants to read about themselves? Wouldn't you rather read about dragons or physics or whatever?" He suggested. The green eyed boy nodded slowly. "Here, what's your favorite subject?"

"Magic."

...

...

"Crap. Ummm, second favorite?"

-{[(•)]}-

By the end of the day, Loki had moved the books he was interested to a rapidly growing pile in his room. As soon as the seven year old had left the library to start his little hoard, Tony grabbed the Norse mythology and had JARVIS direct him to the best hiding place in the entire tower. Then he restricted the information of the book's location so that only he and Thor could find it.

It seemed Loki was in love with the fantasy books earth had to offer. They apparently came very close to what Asgard was actually like (in some cases), and the boy liked reading them so he didn't feel too homesick. He quickly became obsessed with the Harry Potter series; Tony secretly made plans to sit down with the kid and watch the movies.

The green eyed child also like books that talked about the history of earth. He drew his own world map with JARVIS and linked books to the countries they talked about so he had a reference guide. The All-Tongue allowed him to read in any language, and Natasha quickly jumped on the chance to read to him in Russian. Unfortunately, once Loki learned about the freezing temperatures of the northern country, he became wary of the topic.

Steve soon had the mini-magician interested in the art books the library offered. The duo say together for hours, learning everything the guides had to teach them. The captain's bedroom wall was covered with dozens of the boy's drawing by the end of the month.

When Loki finally got around to the science wing, Tony and Bruce dragged him away to the lab to show him everything he was studying. Bruce covered biology, physics, and chemistry, while Tony focused on engineering and technology.

Clint finally seemed to be coming around when he walked in on a lesson with a determined face, grabbed Loki by the back of his shirt, and hauled him off to teach him sign language and go through a few mystery novels. The archer also forced the boy to practice throwing knives and shooting a bow, but that's a completely unrelated matter.

Thor was the last to care about his brother's interest in books. "Once was enough. I don't want to loose my brother to those blasted pages again," he said. With enough nagging from everyone else, Thor eventually browsed the options the library had to offer. Not much caught his eye, but he soon found the adventure section. Every night, the blonde was found putting his brother to bed with another valiant journey or treacherous quest.

Even Pepper jumped on the reading rainbow, bringing in some of the best authors in literary history. Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Stephen King, Benjamin Franklin, C. S. Lewis, Jules Verne, Kate DiCamillo, E. B. White, Hellen Keller, Edgar Allen Poe...

For the next three months, Loki always had a book in his hand or was in the lab. Even when the Avengers had a mini-party to celebrate half a year of Loki living peacefully with them, the boy still curled up in a corner of the couch to read. Clint had to literally steal the book from him and hide it.

After seven months of staying together, the Avengers finally had to swallow the fact that the spell may never wear off and they might actually have to raise the mini-God. Surprisingly, the team didn't find it too much of an inconvenience. Loki had already lived with them for over half a year and hadn't caused any serious problems. Tony and Natasha had accepted their roles as his parents, and everyone adored the boy as much as any family.

But there was one problem- Fury.

The man suspected something was up, as he had for the past four months. The Avengers suddenly seemed much less reluctant to spend time together, and one of them was always at the tower, as though they had something to hide. It was suspicious to say the least. Luckily, he figured they had just gotten closer over the past half-year of living together, and he decided not to focus too much on it. _For now..._

**A/N: o.O Has it already been seven months? The first five chapters were Day 1, chapter six was the morning of Day 2, chapter seven was the first month with Loki in the lab, chapter eight was around month two, and this chapter adds another five or so months (give or take)... DANG. I did not really mean for that to happen, but I guess familiar bonds take longer to happen than friendships...**

**DANG.**


	10. Daddy

**A/N: I FOUND MA NOTES! So here's the next update! Adorable Loki is adorable; awkward Tony is awkward. LOL! XD**

**Everybody get up and do the "technically ten chapters" dance!**

**~(^U^)~ \(^o^)/ ~(^U^)~**

**Ahem... That's enough of that...**

**ONWARD!**

[CHAPTER 9- The Storm]

_Boooommmmmmmm. Csssshhhhh!_

Loki was startled awake by the bright flash of light and the rumble that followed. His hands clamped over his ears as he anxiously tried to find the source of his awakening. When another lightning bolt struck, the green eyed boy cried out and quickly leapt from his bed. He kept his hands over his ears, and his bare feet led him quietly down the hall.

Tears slowly filled his eyes.

Before he had been so rudely awoken, Loki had been having a nightmare. He didn't know why and he didn't know exactly what it was of, but there was a lot of cold and darkness and a blue light, but the light hurt, and then the light was gone and it was dark again. He didn't like the dark at all, and the blue light... terrified him.

And now, Thor was probably making the weather act up, and he had to wander those these dark hallways alone, where the shadows confused him and the only light was from the occasional lightning bolt. Loki called out quietly for his brother. He did not get a response.

The seven year old nervously pushed the door open to Thor's room. The blonde god was not in there. The younger brother sniffled and left the room behind as he continued to search.

_Thor must be very sad if he's making a storm like this. Or he's very angry. What if he's angry at me?!_

Loki's steps faltered.

_No, he's probably not angry at me. I haven't done anything lately. Who else could he be angry with? Maybe himself? Or maybe he really is just sad..._

An especially loud crash made the child shriek in fright. He really didn't like storms, and he really wished Thor would stop it. This place was scary enough as it was.

Cautiously, Loki approached the light coming from the kitchen. "Thor?" He called weakly, clutching the hem of his shirt. Instead of his brother, he found his new father, sitting at the bar.

"It's apple juice, I swear!" Tony shouted with wide eyes as he spun around on his bar-stool. His chocolate eyes landed on the seven year old, and his shoulders immediately slouched in relief. "It... Ah... It really is apple juice..."

Loki felt his lip start trembling. Thor wasn't here either. Was he outside the tower then? He couldn't get his brother to stop if he wasn't here.

"Hey, bud. You okay?" Tony questioned more gently and approached the trembling boy. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I-I'm fine," Loki quietly promised. "I was just... just l-looking for Thor." Thunder rumbled overhead, and the child flinched.

"Oh... 'Cause of the storm, right?" The brunette asked. The dark haired child nodded. "We have storms like this all the time. I doubt your brother is the cause. Ever since you came, he's been a little... ahem, _big_ ball of sunshine." The boy nodded slowly.

"I d-don't like the thunder. It sounds like w-war," Loki whispered and covered his ears. The engineer sighed and stared at the kid for a long moment. So Loki didn't like war. It didn't surprise him anymore, really. For the past several months they'd seen that while Loki was a prankster, he absolutely hated conflict. Trying to take over the world just isn't something he'd do. The idea that the Chitauri were controlling him was more and more likely every day, and even Clint had admitted it.

And the poor kid even had nightmares. He often didn't remember what they were of, but certain things seemed to make him have waking nightmares. Steve had been going over a report once, and Loki had screamed when he saw a picture of a Chitauri solider on the bottom of the screen.

"Hey, hey," Tony murmured soothingly and gently pulled the boy closer. "It's okay. You... Uh, you're fine. Nothing's going to get you... or anything." Wow, he still sucked at this... Where's Pepper when you need her? Or Natasha for that matter? She was pretty much Loki's mom.

Apparently, Tony's awkwardness was perfectly okay with the tiny god, who just gripped at his shirt and buried his face in the man's shoulder. Tremors ran through his body, and he eventually sank to his knees.

"You wanna watch a movie?" Tony asked, trying to come up with a distraction for the distressed child. "We can turn the volume up real loud and close the curtains in the theater..." Loki shook his head, unsure of what a 'movie' was. The brunette made an unhappy, thoughtful look and stared at the pajama clad seven year old. "Why don't we head back to your room, and I'll read to you. We can ask JARVIS where Thor is, 'kay?" The boy nodded thoughtfully and tiredly tried to stand.

Giving into one of his hidden desires, Tony scooped the kid up as he'd seen the blonde god do and settled him on his hip. The green eyed kid was surprisingly light. The inventor carried him to his room and set him on the bed. He flicked on the light and closed the curtains on the far side of the room.

"JARV, where's Point Break?" Tony called as he rummaged through the stack of books in the corner for something interesting.

" has not left the building, sir. He woke up an hour ago and departed to the training areas. He is currently preparing for his spar with in a few hours," the AI informed him. Tony shook his head. Some people were crazy, getting up so early to prepare for something that wouldn't happen for a long time.

"How's this, Loki?" He called over his shoulder, and a book with a mouse on the cover was held up. The billionaire could have sworn there was a movie about this book, but he doubted he'd ever seen it. The child nodded quickly and scooted over to provide space for his Midgardian parent. "Alright... Here we go..." Tony sat on the bed and opened the book to the first page.

After reading the first ten or so pages, Tony found a frown on his face. The story was about a tiny little mouse that was discriminated from the other mice because he liked music and light and reading instead of scurrying about and always working. He was curious and thoughtful and sickly, and he was just like Loki. It made him a little bit sick.

Tony frowned and glanced over at said child to find tears in his eyes. "We can stop if you want," he lightly commented.

The boy shook his head, looking offended. "No! I must know what happens to him!"

"Alright."

The man turned his eyes back to the book and continued to read. Another hour passed before he looked over at his young charge. The boy was falling asleep where he sat, which made him chuckle.

"Okay, kid. I think's it's time you went back to sleep." Tony set the book on the nightstand and pulled the blankets over the seven year old. He moved to the doorway and flicked the lights off with a small smile. "Goodnight, bud."

Timidly, a voice responded with what it had been dying to say for months. "N-Night... um, Daddy."

Tony flinched just as he closed the door. _Daddy_, he thought tiredly. _Daddy is a very difficult title to accept._

**A/N: AWKWARD. Loki, that was kinda uncalled for. Give a guy some warning, will ya? JK, love you, Lokes.**

**BTW, here's this update's question! What is your favorite stuffed animal (guys you too...) AND how did you get it? My favorite is my stuffed bear, Fourie. Make fun of his name- I dare you. :( I got him when I was three, I think it was for my birthday. He's yellow, and he's got really long legs but short ears...**


	11. Punishment

**A/N: *sobs and bows* I'm so sorry for the delay! I have a life and it just hit me, so I've been a bit busy. I tried to make this extra long, include a lot more characters, and make it extra angsty and cutesy. Please enjoy!**

[CHAPTER 10- Punishment]

"Look, Natty!" Loki beamed and held out the project he had been working on all day.

The woman glanced down for a second before returning to loading guns on her person and checking her weapons for ammo. "It's very nice, sweetie, but not now, okay?" The red headed Avenger turned from the seven year old and began talking to Clint in hurried tones.

The green eyed boy's smile dimmed slightly, but he was determined not to give up. Quickly, he bounced over to the next member of his makeshift family.

"Steve, Steve! Look!" He grinned. The blonde super solider frowned and looked down at the boy.

"Listen, Loki, we're really busy right now, okay?" The man quickly returned to the information that had just been sent by Fury. "Alright... With Stark's technology we should get there in-"

Loki was disinterested in what the blue eyed American said next. Natasha, Clint, and Steve were busy, and he hadn't seen Tony or Bruce yet. Thor! His brother would definitely see what he had done!

"Brother! Brother!" He called excitedly with a happy smile. He darted towards where he had last seen the thunderer, but he was surprised to find his big brother in his battle armor. "Brother?"

"Please not now, Loki," the blonde brushed past him to talk to the gathered team members. The dark haired boy watched the happenings with rapidly darkening eyes.

Well, that just left Tony and Bruce since everyone else was too _busy_.

The seven year old moved stealthily towards the lab, but he met Tong half way. The brunette was in red and gold full-body armor; he had his face plate flipped up to make sure he could speak clearly and not bump into anyone inside the tower. The man had yet to be debriefed on the situation, and he'd really appreciate it if Steve could just tell them what they were up against.

"Look, Tony!" Loki smiled and held up his project.

"Not now, kid," the man huffed and didn't bother looking down. Some part of his brain recognized that his irritation with Steve and the stress of this whole situation shouldn't be taken out on Loki, but he really couldn't care less right now. Right now, he needed to focus on meeting up with Steve and getting the details of what was happening.

Loki's paper thin smile faded to a light frown. Subconsciously, he remembered Odin pushing him away like this, especially about his magic. Sure this project wasn't as big as a new magic trick, but it was still important to him and it had taken the whole day.

"You didn't even look," he protested, tailing after the brown eyed man. Tony scowled and let his eyes flicker down for a second.

"There, I looked. Can you go... play or something now?" He demanded. Loki's frown immediately morphed into a scowl.

"It'll only take a second," he tried for a third time. He held out his project.

Tony stopped in his tracks and lifted a hand to his forehead. He didn't have time for this. He had already been stressing enough lately about upgrading everyone's inventions, keeping the house from being destroyed, and trying to fill in where Loki's father had obviously failed. Now, Fury was telling them there was some emergency that all of them had to take care of now; he did not have the patience to deal with a persistent seven year old.

Still, he would do his best to not make any... especially rash decisions.

"Loki, please, I really don't have time for this. We can all look at it later, alright? I need to talk to Steve," the man offered without moving his hand from his face.

"It won't be as special then," Loki sighed.

"I'm sorry, but this is really important, okay? JARVIS will be here to take care of you, but we all have to take care of something really important," Tony tried to assure him.

The project slipped from Loki's fingers.

"You're leaving me here alone?" His voice was tinged with a hint of panic.

"You won't be alone. JARVIS will watch you," the brunette repeated and continued walking. The boy stood in shock for a moment before rushing to catch up.

"Please, don't leave me alone," he called and reached for the man.

"Will you calm down? We're not leaving you for good, alright? We should be back by nighttime at the latest."

The seven year old stiffened again. He shook his head. "Please, _please_. Don't leave me here. Don't go away!" He grabbed the man's hand and tugged lightly, trying to get him to stop.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Tony demanded, feeling aggravated. He glared down at the child. "This isn't a game, Loki. I'm not giving you an option. Stay here; we will be back. I'll even call Pepper, and maybe she can stay with you, okay?" Why couldn't Loki just let them do their jobs?

"Stark! Hurry up!" Steve's voice demanded through the intercom.

"You can't go!" Loki shouted and pulled on the man's arm even harder.

"Okay, that is enough! I have tried to be patient with you, but I _do not have time for this_!" Iron Man growled and grabbed the child by his upper arm. "JARVIS, call Pepper and ask her to come here and look after Loki!"

"Yes sir."

"And you! Just... Just stay and here and behave, for Pete's sake!" With those final words, he threw Loki into the nearest room without looking and had JARVIS lock the door. "Alright, alright! I'm coming, Spangles!" He grumbled to the annoying buzz in his ears. Angrily, Tony stormed off to finally meet up with his team.

Inside the closet, Loki held back angry and frightened tears. He didn't know exactly what he did wrong, but he knew that he had pushed Tony too far. Maybe... Maybe he should have just let it go. His project really wasn't _that_ important... He just wanted to show his new family how much he loved them, so he used his new art skills from Steve to make a painting of the Avengers and him.

The painting (which had been abandoned on the floor of the hallway) showed Loki sitting happily in Natasha's lap while playing a game with Steve, Clint, and Tony. Bruce and Thor stood nearby, watching happily. There was a smile on everyone's face, and the entire picture had been done in bright, happy colors.

Loki shrank back against a wall of the closet and stared at the darkness around him. _Darkness..._ He knew he didn't like the darkness for some reason. He had been fine with it when he had been in Asgard, but ever since he had come to live with the Avengers, he had problems with any dark places.

_He had been here for days. When were they going to let him go? It had been just a stupid prank, and he had just been trying to make up for it by getting Sif new hair... It hurts so much... (1)_

_How long had he been here? His legs were sore from walking, but he knew he couldn't stop. His son didn't deserve this. He had to find him and rescue him... It hurts so much... (2)_

_It had been an eternity since he had last seen the light... All he knew was the sensation of loss and falling... It hurts so much... (3)_

The seven year old felt his breaths coming rapidly and his heart beat uncontrollably, but it was an almost distant feeling. What were these feelings? He remembered them but he didn't, and he just wished they would leave him alone.

He clamped his hands over his ears and let out a wild scream, hoping to make everything go away. The darkness was surrounding him and pressing in on all sides. He didn't like the dark because it made him see things, and with the light he was blind to this _agony_.

Sometimes, the dark made him want to go back home, and other times the dark made him wish for nothing more than to burn that golden city to the ground. The darkness made names spin around in his head, and he knew them but he really didn't. And the dark made him hear a nasty, mean voice that always sounded so sad and he just _wanted it all to go away_!

Loki screamed again, just because he had to be sure there was air in his lungs. For some reason, he thought there wouldn't be air. There would be nothing but darkness, and it would consume him, and he would choke, and he would be _taken._

_How much time had been spent in this dark place? He had finally stopped falling, but everything about him felt weak and strained, as though he had been running and running and hadn't stopped. There were things here that touched and abused him, and they made sounds that he came to fear. He didn't like it here. It hurt so much... (4)_

Something inside of him was pushing against the walls of his mind. He didn't want those barriers to break; he was afraid of what would be unleashed. Those barricades were holding something back, something that would hurt everybody. So he couldn't let whatever was inside of him out.

There was too much darkness and he felt too small and too helpless and _Thor, please come for me_ and _Daddy, why did you leave me_ but it couldn't be their faults because he was bad and he deserved everything-

Light poured into the small area.

Loki was suddenly pulled against something warm and soft and comforting. It smelled like strawberries.

"I swear, Tony will be missing teeth when I'm done with him!" Pepper hissed. The seven year old gasped weakly for air, and he faintly recognized the cold liquid on his cheeks. All he could understand was the light and Pepper's voice. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"I-I'm fine," Loki whispered. "P-please don't put me in the d-dark again."

"No, sweetheart. Never ever ever, okay?" The strawberry-blonde promised. "You're shaking. You wanna go get some water?" The boy nodded and didn't fuss when she picked him up and settled him against her hip. He did whine as she started to walk away and he remembered his painting. "What's wrong?"

"M-my project!" He reached weakly for the discarded paper. The woman nodded stiffly and walked forward to retrieve it. She bit back a gasp when she saw what it was of.

"Loki, this is beautiful! You made it?" She smiled softly. He nodded. "It's very pretty. I like all of the nice colors. I'm sad, though. Where am I?"

Loki gasped. "I'm sorry!" He stared down at the painting and tilted it to the side. The boy reached deep inside himself for the warm feeling that came from his magic. Carefully, he pulled colors from the picture to add Pepper in, leaning on Tony's shoulders and smiling warmly.

If Pepper was amazed by the child's show of talent, she didn't express it. She simply laughed, thanked him, and gave him a loving kiss on the cheek.

"Let's get a frame, alright? And we'll find the perfect place to hang it, so don't worry. Now, water?"

"Hmm-mmm."

The duo relocated to the kitchen where Pepper fetched Loki a glass of water and sat with him at the counter. Slowly, the boy drank the entire glass.

"Thank you," he managed quietly and set the glass down on the counter.

"It was nothing," the woman bit her lip. "Do you... Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Loki took deep breaths and fought back more tears. "I was... I-I pestered Da-Tony too much a-and he got really m-mad, but ever-ryone was busy a-and I just wanted to s-show them my p-picture. B-but it was really, r-really dark in there, and I d-don't like the dark because it h-hurts-!" He whimpered and buried his face in her shoulder, trembling. More quietly than before, he whispered, "I-I'm sorry."

"No, sweetheart. You're fine. I don't think you did anything wrong; Tony's been very busy lately and it's making him unhappy. It wasn't right of him to push that unhappiness on you," Pepper smiled and tried to be consoling. Suddenly, she realized why Loki might not have let everyone leave so easily. "Loki, did everyone tell you what they do?" He shook his head and looked up at her. "The people who live in this tower are a team of superheroes or... warriors, I guess. They're called the Avengers, and their jobs are to protect everyone on the planet... er, realm."

Loki's eyes widened. That's why everyone was getting ready for battle!

Tears filled the boy's eyes and he quickly let loose an apology. Pepper shook her head and told him it was fine.

"Would you like to see some pictures of them as... warriors?" She suggested. The seven year old smiled and nodded. "JARVIS, can you pull up pictures of the team in the living room?"

"Certainly, ."

"Come on. We're moving to the living room." The strawberry blonde gently lifted Loki and carried him to said room. Already on the television were several images of the Avengers in full uniform from press conferences and news reports. There were also pictures people had taken of them and posted on the Internet, as well as their pictures from their SHIELD files.

Loki smiled softly, filled with awe. These were the people he lived with; these were the people who helped others and made sure everyone was content. These were the people who loved him and treated him like family. These people were special.

As the pictures drifted across the screen, the seven year old noticed one with the six Avengers and another, darker figure. The man was tall and lean, with dark hair and sharp eyes. He was chained and muzzled. The Avengers looked tense around the man, and they were covered with various wounds. Loki's breath caught in his throat.

That was him.

"I would like to paint, now," he murmured quietly to Pepper and turned away from the screen, burying his face in her shoulder again.

Loki did not like how _dark_ he looked in the future.

"Alright. Where are your supplies?" The woman questioned and ran her fingers through his hair.

"My room."

They moved calmly through the tower, and Loki began to paint while Pepper made a 'very important phone call.' The child grabbed a piece of thick watercolor paper and his set of paint cakes and brushes. He quietly scuttled into the bathroom to grab a cup of water while Tony's girlfriend dialed the number of a certain not so genius, billionaire, philanthropist, playboy.

"Tony, when you get back here, I swear I am going to kill you!" She hissed into the phone and stepped out into the hall, leaving the door open a crack so she could keep an eye on her charge. "What on earth were you _thinking?_!"

"Whoa, what?" The man's voice crackled to life across the speaker. Faint explosions could be heard in the background, and Natasha gave orders over the comm line, which was linked to Pepper's call. "Are you okay? Is Loki causing trouble?"

"Is _Loki_ causing trouble?! No, that little angel is just struggling to not be traumatized right now!" She growled.

"Traumatized?! What happened? What's going on?" Tony demanded. The sound of a repulser blast caused a small explosion.

_"You locked him in a closet!"_

_"What?!"_

"Don't you dare play dumb with me, Anthony Stark. I swear as soon as you get back here, we are going to have a very serious talk and I am going to punch you!" Pepper promised.

"What do you _mean_ Stark locked Loki in a closet?" Natasha hissed, suddenly on the call.

"I mean I arrived at the tower and I heard Loki screaming. When I went to check it out, he was sobbing on the floor of a closet!"

"We have closets at the Tower?" Tony mumbled. "No, Pepper, no. I would never do that, I couldn't have-"

"JARVIS, did Tony put Loki in that closet?" The strawberry-blonde questioned angrily.

"I'm sorry to say he did indeed," the AI replied, sounding almost regretful.

"I-I did? What? No... I didn't... I didn't mean to. I'm so sor-"

"Tell that to Loki," the woman snapped. "You _are_ going to apologize to him, _and_ you are going to make it up to him. Do you want to know what he was trying to show all of you?"

"Pepper, please," Tony whispered. He didn't know what he was asking for, but she told him regardless.

"He painted a picture of the six of you as his family."

The team gasped collectively. Thor felt tears build in his eyes, while Steve noticed how his chest suddenly ached. Clint frowned, and Natasha let out a short growl. Tony cursed and stuttered out an incoherent apology.

"None of you bothered to explain to him that you were Avengers?" The woman continued, furious. "He _apologized_ when I told him. He was sorry that he had disturbed you when you trying to help people. This whole mess could have been avoided if you told him the truth and taught him what to do. He is seven. He loves you, and he was scared of being abandoned. And you shoved that right back in his face. Everyone will be sitting down tonight for dinner, and this will be discussed."

With that, Pepper hung up and forcefully shoved her phone back into her purse. She turned sharply and reentered Loki's room. A warm smile lit her face when she saw Loki sitting at the tiny table in the center of the room. His tongue was stuck out in concentration, and his hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. Splotches of paint were dotted across his face, and the tips of his bangs were coated in dried blue paint. His hands were a disaster, but his workspace was perfectly clean.

"Why did you let yourself get so messy?" Pepper questioned, seeing how precise the seven year old was being.

"It is better for me, who is washable, to get dirty, than the furniture, which is not so easily cleaned," the child responded after a moment.

"Well, as soon as you're done, I'm making you take a break so we can get you cleaned up," she stated with a small smile and sat beside him. "What are you painting?"

"The Avengers."

Pepper blinked and leaned forward to get a better look at his paper. Indeed, he was painting the Avengers, in uniform. They were shown with such detail that the woman was shocked at the skills of the seven year old. Steve bravely held his shield in front of him, his helmet against his boot. Natasha was crouched down in a fighting stance, guns pointed at two invisible figures in front of him. Thor stood with his hammer to the sky and summoned lighting to it. This cast a bright purple light on the Iron Man suit that hovered near the others, powering up the repulsers. Tony's face plate was flipped up to reveal a determined look with a trace of a smirk.

_Very Tony_, Pepper noted with a smile.

Bruce had transformed into the Hulk and was smashing a car in the background; he looked very pleased, with his mouth twisted up in a crooked grin. Lastly, Clint stood a short distance behind the ground, his bow drawn tight with his quiver visible. Pepper noticed the start of a brown blob, and she assumed that would turn into Director Fury.

"This is wonderful, Loki. You're very talented," she praised warmly. He blushed but kept working.

"Thank you."

Pepper's phone rang. It was Tony, so she ignored it. She also ignored it when it kept ringing for the next ten minutes.

Loki finally finished his painting and left it on a piece of newspaper to dry. He quickly cleaned up his supplies before Pepper led him to the bathroom. With a sigh, the strawberry blonde grabbed a wash rag and began to gently scrub the child's face. As soon as she had him tip his head back in the sink to wash his hair, her phone rang yet again; this time it was Steve.

Not quite as angry with the ignorant super solider (who ever be could for long?) Pepper answered her phone. "Yes?" She could feel Steve's discomfort across the line.

"Um, we wanted to let you know we were on our way back, but you weren't picking up for Stark so..." The blue eyed man awkwardly mumbled. "Just in case you needed to warn Loki or... something."

"Alright. Thank you, Steve," Pepper responded tiredly, trying to hide the tiny bit of guilt that popped up when she realized that Tony could've have been on his deathbed and trying to say goodbye and she would have just ignored his calls.

"No problem," he muttered and quickly ended the phone call.

Pepper turned back to Loki, who had finished washing his hair for himself and was drying it. "Everyone's on their way back." The seven year old almost dropped his towel.

"But my new project isn't done yet," he protested mildly. "I'll just have to show them the first one when I apologize then..."

"Apologize?" She blinked.

"For hindering them from going into battle. It wasn't my place," he declared. Pepper felt like crying.

"Oh, sweetie. That's okay. You don't need to apologize. It's not like you actually stopped them; I'm sure everything's fine," she assured. "You can still show them your picture. Why don't we go find that frame now?" Loki nodded happily. Pepper asked JARVIS to lead them to any extra frames, and the duo found a box of unused ones in a cabinet at the back of Tony's lab. A few minutes of rifling through the cardboard container showed that there was only one that would fit Loki's painting. They happily took it and were framing the picture in the front room when everyone came back.

Loki stiffened, but made no other moves.

"I'm sorry, Loki," Natasha apologized immediately. "I won't brush you off like that again. It wasn't very nice of me."

"It's okay," the boy responded shyly, and played with the hem of his shirt. "Um, here. You can see it now." He held out the framed painting and Natasha just smiled and gave him a light kiss to the forehead.

"It's beautiful. Thank you."

Thor came up next and tearfully pulled his brother into a hug. The child gasped and squirmed, but his brother did not release him. "I deeply regret my previous actions, brother. It was wrong of me to push you away. I should have learned my lesson by now, but it seems I have not, and I am extremely sorry. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?"

"O-of course, big b-brother. Can I b-breathe now?" The seven year old wheezed. The blonde quickly loosened his arms but did not let go.

That was around the time when Pepper spotted Tony.

The fiery strawberry-blonde immediately stood from her seat. Her black high heels clicked on the tiled floor as she made her way across the room. In the blink of an eye, the brunette was on the ground. He grabbed at his face, clearly in pain.

"God, Pepper! Did Loki teach you how to punch?! Oh my gosh! What the he-"

Natasha gave him a kick for good measure.

_"Stark."_

Under the pressuring glares of two angry mama bears, the engineer wilted. He slowly pushed himself off the floor (hiding a wince, goodness Natasha!) and lifted his chocolate eyes to the timid child at the counter. Thor stepped slightly closer to the boy, and the women both moved closer together as if Tony was going to spring forward at any time and devour the kid whole.

"Loki, I... I'm really sorry. I know you were just trying to show me something, and I shouldn't have released my aggravation on you. And I apologize for locking in..." The man gulped, his own mind flashing back to his own places of darkness and all-consuming fear. "I'm so, _so_ sorry for even putting you in the closet. I... I'm not asking you to forgive me, because I really don't deserve it." Loki gasped, but the man continued. "But I never should have done anything of what I did today. I hope that our relationship can still be... um, fixed."

"It's..." The green eyed boy thought for a long moment. How did he feel about all of this? The dark was scary, and it hurt, but he still wanted Tony. Tony was his Daddy now, and he was a much nicer daddy than Odin, who always ignored him and belittled him and picked away at everything about him and hit him and made him so, so sad. Tony made his life happy and bright, and he understood what real love was again. His Daddy had made a mistake, but everyone does. Loki made mistakes, and everyone forgave him for those. If he didn't forgive his _Daddy_ for an _accident_, what kind of person was he? He didn't want to be like his future self, who was always sad and scared and lonely.

Loki bit his lip and stared at the brunette for another long moment. Tony obviously hadn't meant to lock him in the closet. He knew how Loki felt about the dark, and he showed his love so much that the boy honestly couldn't believe that his Daddy would ever do something like that to him on purpose.

Of course, he was still scared, but that didn't mean that he couldn't forgive Tony. He loved Tony, and Tony loved him, and people who love each other also forgive each other. If he didn't forgive Tony for a mistake like this, he clearly didn't love him or appreciate him as much as he thought.

Loki had certainly made up his mind as he carefully hopped down from his seat and crossed the room. Gently, he edged around Pepper and Natasha, also sending them thankful looks. He knelt down by Tony and stared him in the eyes. For some reason, the boy always knew when someone was lying, especially if he looked in their eyes.

The engineer looked uncomfortable, but his eyes were honest and almost tearful with how much regret swam through the dark brown pools. Loki nodded once and felt his own eyes fill with tears. He slowly wrapped his arms around Tony's shoulders. "I-it's okay," he whispered. "I forgive you. Don't be sad."

The man let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and quickly returned the seven year old's hug. He shakily breathed into the child's dark hair for a moment and lightly rubbed his back. Loki was quivering against him, obviously still under a lot of stress and needing reassurance.

"I will never, _ever_ do anything like that _ever_ again," Tony promised from the depth of his soul. It sounded childish, but it was the truth.

"Loki?" Bruce questioned softly as he entered the room, Steve and Clint by his side. When he had de-hulked, he had fallen and made a gash in his side. The bleeding wasn't too bad, but Steve and Clint had helped him to the lab for bandaging while everyone else went to see the possibly traumatized seven year old upstairs.

"Here," the boy responded just as quietly and slowly pulled back from Tony. "I..." The child's heart skipped a beat. "I love you, Daddy." He quickly kissed the stunned brunette's cheek and leapt behind Thor, quivering as though he was afraid to be struck.

"Daddy?" Pepper asked and raised an eyebrow. "When did this happen?"

"A few nights ago," Tony mumbled, still shocked. "There was that storm and I tucked him back into bed. Dunno when he started thinking that way... But I like it." Loki giggled nervously and buried his face in his older brother's back. Clint laughed and clapped Tony on the back.

"Well! We all knew this was going to happen sooner or later. I'm just glad there wasn't a woman involved!"

Tony spluttered incoherently for a moment. "I am with Pepper!" He managed. "And I have _never_ gotten a woman pregnant!"

"Not in front of Loki!" Steve snapped.

With a devious smirk, Loki quickly asked the question he knew everyone was dreading. "What's pregnant mean?"

Steve scrambled for an appropriate answer, and everyone but Natasha stiffened. Natasha lightly flicked the boy's ear. He just laughed, and everyone quickly settled down after that.

**A/N: I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter! Here's the clarification for those of you who aren't familiar with Norse mythology.**

**(1) When Loki was little, (we'll say eight) he thought it would be a funny prank to cut off Sif's blonde hair. Much like Rapunzel, it turned black, and she was devastated. To make up for it, little Loki tricks the dwarves into making a wig of the finest golden hair and Thor's hammer , Mjoinir. The dwarves are not very happy when they realize they've been tricked, so they sew Loki's lips shut with leather and throw him in the dungeon. Odin doesn't rescue Loki for a couple of days.**

**(2) Loki's third child, Fenris, was prophesied to kill Odin and swallow the moon. This was bad for obvious reasons, so the Aesir locked Loki's son in the caves deep under Asgard. They shackled him with unbreakable chains and placed a sword in his mouth to stop the howling and devouring of anything important. Despite all attempts, Loki was never able to free his child and began to resent Odin.**

**(3) At the end of the Thor movie, Loki fell from the Bifrost and is lost to the void between realms. There's no oxygen, light, food, or water obviously, so Loki is slowly wasting away even though he can't really die. Being immortal sucks.**

**(4) Thanos caught Loki as he was falling though the void, and the Chitauri tortured him into submission. If you've read the heat exhaustion theory, you understand what I mean. Look it up.**

**The scene in the closet. Loki doesn't actually remember any of the previously mentions events, but the darkness reminds him of all the physically and emotionally painful experiences he's had with the dark. This causes a panic attack, which then leads to the screaming.**

**Now that that's out of the way...**

**A. Please go to my profile and vote. I want to know where I should start a How To Train Your Dragon story or not. I would really appreciate it if you could vote. The poll will be taken down March 14th, and you will able to see the results then.**

**B. Question of the update! What... IS YOUR QUEST?! (Virtual Loki watercolor painting for anyone who can name the quote.)**

**C. It's probably impolite of me to ask this, but I'm rude so I'll do it anyway. Fanart? Please? Anyone? I draw myself, but I'm absolutely terrible with fanart. Would anyone like to draw or paint or something any scenes from this story or Furious Daddy Fury (my other current Avengers fic; #ShamelessAdvertising #HashtagHastag)? There are plenty of scenes that I know would be adorable or just really unique looking. Would anyone be willing to do one of Loki's paintings?**

**D. My best friend's boyfriend literally broke up with her today, and she won't let me beat him up, but I'd still like to cheer her up. Any support from you guys would be really appreciated.**

***bows* I have finished my shameless requests. I'm gonna go research cosplays for the anime con my mom is taking me to. *insane giggle***


	12. Kitty!

**A/N: Sorry for the late update. *yawns* 'Was sick last week for a few days and I had o work on my art final. Still do. But you guys are important to me and apparently I've reached the title of senpai, so I did my best with this. It's a little pointless, a little filler. But it will come up later, so it's not totally worthless, right?**

[Chapter 11- Kitty!]

"_Pepper_," the panicked voice came over the phone. "_Pepper, oh gosh, I don't know what to do- he's _gone_._"

Ever since Loki arrived, Natasha and Pepper found themselves bonding more naturally than before. Today had put them at the spa, chatting about some thing that the resident seven year old had done or how Tony had failed to compensate. The strawberry blonde's phone had rang in the middle of their soak, and she had listened to Tony's unfiltered rambling for a minute before she calmed him down enough to figure out what was going on.

Loki had gone missing.

"What do you mean _gone_?" She demanded, immediately sitting up straighter. Natasha glanced over sharply.

"I-I don't know! I was in the lab, and Loki ran off to play with Steve, and then I asked JARVIS where they were, and he said they weren't in the tower! No one knows where they went, and Steve would never break rules like this, and something has to have happened, and oh gosh, Pepper? What if he's hurt? Or worse! What if he's _dead_?!" Tony babbled.

"Tony- _Tony_!" Pepper called into the phone. "No one's dead! Everything's just fine. Take a deep breath, and sit down somewhere, okay?"

"I-I can't! Pepper, he's gone-"

"I know, Tony. You said that before. Shut up and sit down." She heard the rustling of clothing, signifying that he had sat. "Now. Have you called Steve?"

"Do you think I'm stupid?! Of course, I called Steve! I am a genius, billionaire, not so playboy, philanthropist! You think that I _wouldn't_ think to call him?!"

"It's a standard question, Tony. Do you know if anyone else saw them or was with them?"

"No! No one knows _anything_!"

"Okay. Um..." Pepper thought for another moment before she turned back to Natasha. "Loki and Steve have gone missing and no one knows where they went."

"What were they doing before they disappeared?"

"Tony says Loki left to play with Steve. He doesn't know what happened." The two women shared a long look before sighing and giving short nods, standing at the same time and grabbing towels to start drying off. Pepper turned back to the phone and quietly instructed Tony, "Alright. We're coming back now. Don't let anyone leave the tower, and wait in one place for them to get back. I suggest the living room. Keep calling Steve's cell phone every ten minutes. We should be there in thirty minutes."

"Okay. Okay, Pepper," Tony breathed, obviously still panicking but trying to stop. "I'll do that. I'll-I'll turn on a movie or something-"

"And, Tony? No alcohol, alright?" The blue eyed woman sighed.

"Yes, Pepper," the man grumbled quietly. "I'll stick with the apple juice..."

The woman ended the call, and the duo quickly exited the spa. Natasha was a trusted customer, so when they explained there was an emergency, the staff let them go and kept the receipt so they could pay next time. The women ducked into Pepper's car and started the drive back to the tower. Jarvis gave them brief updates every ten minutes through the radio.

Finally, they arrived and headed upstairs to the Avengers' personal floors via the private elevator. Tony, Clint, Bruce, and Thor were anxiously gathered in the front room. Thor paced nervously, biting his thumb in thought. "This is not usual for my brother. He is not fond of the outdoors. He would not leave the tower."

"We know, Thor."

Tony's leg bounced up and down rapidly, and Clint twirled his thumbs idly. Bruce sat on the other couch and nervously sipped tea. Natasha sat beside him and decided to start a quiet conversation to fill the silence and ease the tension. Pepper followed her lead, and everyone chatted for a short while, with Tony occasionally checking his phone or attempting to call Steve.

After another thirty minutes, the elevator doors opened suddenly and released Steve, Loki, and... a stuffed cat? The black animal was almost larger than the seven year old, and it looked almost exactly like a real cat. The child held the toy directly under its front appendages with his arms wrapped around its abdomen. The front paws hung over his arms, and the cat's back legs and tail dangled limply in front of him. The glass eyes were a bright, electric blue, and it had a soft pink nose and velvety pink pads on its paws.

"Look, Daddy!" Loki called cheerfully. "Steve got me a kitty!" He held his arms higher as if to show Tony what he was talking about.

Instantly, the six adults sprang to their feet and began to shout protests and questions at Steve. Loki flinched and ducked behind the super-soilder. Steve glanced worriedly behind him.

"Guys," he called over the din. "Guys! I'll explain everything! Just calm down!"

"Calm? _Calm_?!" Tony shrieked. "You want me to be calm?! You took Loki goodness only knows where _out of the tower_ to do goodness knows _what_! We have been searching for over an hour! You couldn't have picked up your phone one of the first ten times I called?!"

"I didn't have my phone on! It died while I was sparring!" Steve scowled, trying not to start a fight with Loki present but unable to resist rising to Tony's comments.

"_Sparring?_ Is _that_ what you were doing when Loki came?" The engineer cried. What if Loki had gotten hurt?! He was such a twig-like little thing and Steve was this big, strong super human!

"I didn't spar _with_ him! He sat and watched, and we talked while I practiced! Do you _really_ think I would endanger him?!" The blonde questioned indignantly.

"Well, obviously the answer is yes because you took him _out of the tower_!" Tony snarked and gestured to the new cat toy to prove his point. "And Loki, if you wanted something, you just had to ask. You know you're not supposed to leave the tower. Don't think you're out of trouble either." Loki frowned, and big crocodile tears welled up in his eyes. Yet, he didn't protest.

"I always take a jog after I spar! Loki wanted to stay with me so we just went for a walk around the _block_! There was a toy vender selling stuffed animals and I had some cash! Is that so _wrong_?" Steve demanded angrily and tucked the seven year old into his side. He didn't like seeing kids cry, especially Loki.

"Yes! What if there were _agents_ out there? What if you were mugged? What if we needed you for a mission? So many things could have gone wrong! And you put Loki in harm's way! I knew you were a bit clueless, but I never realized you were careless and stupid as well!" The smaller brunette man raged, throwing his hands in the air.

"_None_ of those things happened! And just because I finally decided to let Loki get out of the tower instead of locking him up tighter than _Alcatraz_ doesn't make me _any_ less intelligent!"

"Oh, so you were always dull then?"

"Boys, boys!" Pepper finally snapped. "You're both pretty and you've both got points to make. Tony, don't call Steve stupid- you're setting a bad example. Steve, you should have told someone before you left, especially if you were taking Loki with you. Loki, sweetie, it's okay for you to go outside with one of us but we need to talk about it first so we can make sure nothing bad happens, okay? Alright, everyone? We're all on the same page then. Good. Loki, why don't you introduce us to your new friend?"

Bruce breathed a huge sigh of relief, pleased that the tension was starting to fade. Thor moved forward to scoop his brother up, and Loki giggled at the attention. The dark haired child clutched his toy with one arm and looped the other around his big brother's neck. Clint settled down to clean his bow, with Natasha sitting on the arm of the chair nearest to him. Tony and Pepper slowly settled down at the bar so the brunette could refill his apple juice; Steve left the room to take a shower.

"What is your companion's name, brother?" Thor questioned and sat on the couch opposite from Clint, pulling the dark haired child into his lap.

"Name? I hadn't thought of that quite yet, I guess..." Loki thought for a short moment. "I'd really like to name him Harry, but then he'd need a Ron and Hermione." Tony choked for a quite moment and Pepper worriedly patted him on the back.

"Of course," Natasha smiled. "That sounds like a great name, and I'm sure we can get him some more friends soon." The boy nodded shyly and snuggled the toy closer while leaning further into Thor.

But that just wouldn't do.

Tony didn't like animals, of course, and he knew that if he'd ever had a pet it would die before the week was out. But with Pepper and the other Avengers in the tower, Tony could one-up Natasha and do better than more stuffed animals.

The brunette smiled wickedly to himself as he watched everyone interact with Loki and Harry the stuffed cat wizard.

-{[(•)]}-

"I don't know what you're planning, but I'm sure I'm not going to like it if that smirk is anything to go by," Pepper frowned and she walked into Tony's lab. He was working on some kind of multi-layered storage system, or so it seemed. It looked very unique, very Tony, but Pepper didn't understand why the man was now stapling carpet to it...

"Oh, nothing much. Just making Loki the happiest kid alive," the engineer smirked as he continued his work on the condo. The other things he'd made were hidden, with Loki having been left a note so he could find them scavenger hunt style. Tony had already seen the green eyed boy tugging Thor and Steve all over the tower. Jarvis kept him informed on their progress; they would be in the lab by the end of the hour.

"Hmm-mm. Sure." Pepper set a small stack of paperwork near his elbow. She didn't miss the soft noises coming from the cardboard box at the end of the lab table. "What's this?" She curiously reached out.

Gently, of course, Tony swatted her hand and mooed at her. "Noooooo, not yet!"

"Tony, have you been sleeping enough lately? You've been off ever since Steve took Loki out of the tower-"

"Fine! I'm fine!" He beamed, and she could _smell_ the honesty radiating off him.

"Well... Alright..." She mumbled. The man went back to stapling carpet, and he seemed finished when Jarvis warned them of the arrival of Loki and the blondes.

"Daddy! Daddy, look at what we found!" The seven year old giggled delightedly and sprinted straight into Tony's open arms. The brunette laughed deeply and lifted him up, settling him on his hip almost naturally. Loki held out a basket of goodies, including a collar, bag of cat nip, and something that resembled a feather duster.

Curiously, the dark haired boy pulled out a food dish that was decorated with bands of rainbows and quietly wondered, "What does it _mean_?" Tony smirked and bounced Loki lightly.

"I don't know. Maybe you're missing something?" He questioned. The child frowned and shook his head.

"No, we followed all the directions. They just took us here!" He murmured. Steve quirked an eyebrow and twisted his head in the direction of the noisy cardboard box.

"Well, maybe whatever you need to find is in here? What did they instructions say?" The brown eyed man did his best to repress a smile as Thor thoughtfully recalled each part of the scavenger hunt for him. Treasure hunts were apparently very important on Asgard, so the two brothers had easily puzzled through each of the clues.

"_Tony_-" Steve suddenly hissed. He looked angry and worried all at once, which probably meant he had figured out what was in the box.

"What is going on?" Pepper frowned. "Tony?"

"Fine! You guys always ruin my fun! Here, Rudolph, is the last part of your scavenger hunt." The billionaire set the child carefully on the table beside the box. Curiously, Loki shifted forward and opened the cardboard container. Steve flinched at the high-pitched squeal that came from the boy's mouth.

"_Kitty_!"

Pepper instantly rounded on the brunette. "_Tony_!"

"_What_? He likes cats and I've clearly got enough money! Jarvis helped me look everything up online, and it's really not hard to take care of these things," he explained quickly and defensively. A delighted giggle came from the cardboard box and Tony shrieked when he discovered that there were now two cats. "_Where did that come from?!_"

"Silly, Daddy! It's me!" Loki purred happily and leapt at his new friend. The small kittens made soft noises to each other before curling up and falling asleep, Loki carefully wrapped around the tabby kitten.

"What..." Tony trailed off with wide eyes. Slowly, he turned to Thor. The thundered just smiled softly.

"Loki is a natural shapeshifter. We did not know until he had discovered his... true heritage. When Odin found him, he naturally assumed the form of an Aesir in hopes that Father would save him. He became more adept at his abilities as he grew, of course, but he is naturally able to shift into another skin as if it were his own. Now that he's willingly shown you, he will probably be whatever he desires at any time," the blonde declared, his voice full of warmth. He stepped forward at some point during his speech and scratched Loki behind one of his little black ears.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, what?!" The engineer frowned. "So tomorrow morning I could walk into the kitchen, find a snake, and have to force myself not to freak out because it's probably Loki?"

"I doubt he would shift into a snake, Man of Iron," Thor muttered and shifted. He ran his knuckles down Loki's spine and grinned at the contented purr that escaped the kitten. "He liked small, furry animals more at this age."

"So a mouse then. You're going to be the one to explain that to Natasha."

"He could also choose to become a fluffy bird."

"Then I'd have a baby chicken running around, which I'm sure I could use against Clint, but that's not the point. We need to set some boundaries I guess," the brunette sighed.

"When he awakens, Stark," the blue eyed man assured.

"Can he turn into anything bigger?" Steve wondered. He wandered over and gave the orange kitten some attention as well. "Like a rhino or something?"

"A larger species of animal, yes, but he will still appear his age for that species. If I may, I'd like to make a conversion chart for future use. I know felines are 5 years for every human year and canines are 7," Thor responded. Tony waved away his thoughts.

"Jarvis will take care of that. Don't worry about it."

Pepper finally caved to her inner cat-lover and affectionately petted both of the kitten in sweet, gentle strokes. No part of them was safe. Everything was properly loved, from the soft spots behind their ears to the sensitive pads of their paws.

"This was not what I was expecting when I got him a pet..."

**A/N: So make the fluff was also kinda crack-fic-ish...**

**Question of the update! If you were a werewolf, would you be an Alpha, an Omega, or a regular ol' Beta? The all-knowing internet tells me I'm an Omega, but I know I could be an Alpha if I were with the right mate. *hides romance novels* This question wasn't really brought on by _anything_ in particular...**


End file.
